Tag Archives: NV AB 246

Please call the Nevada Senate Committee on Natural Resources TODAY and register NO on AB 246. It is scheduled for a vote TODAY at 1:30pm PDT. The US Herpetoculture Alliance has offered an amendment to limit the definition of “swap meet” to include ONLY “outdoor” venues. Without this amendment ALL reptile shows in Nevada could be prohibited! At this juncture Herp Alliance has received no indication that this amendment will be accepted. Call the Senate Committee on Natural Resources today and register NO on AB 246. The deadline for the Committee to take action on AB 246 is tomorrow May 17, 2013. Today is the last Committee hearing prior to the deadline. If AB 246 doesn’t get voted on today the bill will be dead.

Sample Script: (be polite and professional)

Please vote NO on AB 246 “swap meet” bill. It gives an overly broad definition to the term “swap meet” and will cost the State of Nevada hundreds of thousands of dollars from the elimination of professional reptile trade shows held in the state. The definition should be limited to “outdoor” venues only. This will hurt tourism revenues coming into the State of Nevada.

Yesterday Nevada Assembly Bill 246 was amended and passed out of the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources, Agriculture and Mining. The US Herpetoculture Alliance remains strongly OPPOSED to AB 246.

AB 246 was amended to allow for reptile shows and other trade events ONLY if, “[t]he swap meet is conducted in a county or incorporated city in this State which has adopted an ordinance authorizing the sale of live animals at a swap meet.” AB 246 goes further to require that the ordinance must include, “provisions which are substantially similar to the provisions of NRS 574.360 to 574.510…”In other words, if the county or city does NOT have an ordinance in place, reptile shows shall be illegal!

There is no exemption for bird shows, reptile shows or trade shows as has been erroneously reported on the internet.

The US Herpetoculture Alliance has already reached out to the Senate Committee on Natural Resouces to which AB 246 is being referred. The fight is now in the Senate.